Additional details released in Voltaire Canyon deaths

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A man walking his dog found two women dead near a dirt road in Voltaire Canyon on Thursday morning in what investigators say was either a murder-suicide or a double suicide.

The two women, both Native Americans, had died from apparent gunshot wounds and a handgun was found next to their bodies. The man came across the two, ascertained they were dead and drove about a half-mile down Voltaire Canyon to the closest house to call authorities, Sheriff Ken Furlong said.

"We don't know if this was a murder-suicide or a suicide-suicide," the sheriff said.

"Weather is giving us an indication no one else was there" because there were no tracks other than those of the two women in the wet, sandy soil where their bodies were found.

The bodies lay next to a SUV parked in a clearing in the sagebrush-studded canyon on the west edge of Carson City. The vehicle is registered to a local resident who lives on tribal land, Furlong said. Washoe Tribal Police were called to assist in the investigation, although the bodies were not on tribal land, he added.

The man who found the two at 8:30 a.m. originally called in reporting a man and a woman, not two women.

Furlong said investigators believe they know the identities of the two victims but were still working to confirm that information. He said anyone with information should contact the Carson City Sheriff's Office at 775-887-2500 or Secret Witness at 775-322-4900.